Struggle

Rainbow Dash forced herself to put down the Daring Doo book so she can go to Fluttershy's. William Penn's writings are so compelling, so compelling, in fact, it led her to, how did Twilight put it? "Petty theft."

A lone adventurer, almost exactly like her. Everypony knew she was the adventurer, but they didn't see the other half. Daring Doo was alone.

Sometimes, Rainbow wonders if loving a fictional character was wrong, but Daring Doo was her. Exactly like her. Perfect for her.

She'll have to tell somepony someday. Maybe Twilight would understand? She reads a lot of fiction. Or maybe Fluttershy. She knows what love feels like. She married Trey.

Speaking of Trey, Rainbow hasn't seen him much since Hearth's Warming Eve, or Christmas, as he called it.

Fluttershy was lucky to get a stallion like him. Rainbow would never be as lucky. And those rumors about her liking mares doesn't help.

Just because she was adventurous, she was coltish. And that was the root of her lonliness. No matter how many friends she gains, she still feels alone.

Twilight wanted to be alone. Why? It felt horrible! Empty! Misplaced!

Death. Now there was an odd thought. Would death be better than life? What was death? And did love come from death. Does she want to be dead? Hmmm.... She never thought about that. She wouldn't tell anypony about that though.

The cottage appeared, and a new thought popped up. Why did Fluttershy call them to her house. She could see it now. "I bet you all are wondering why i called you here today..."

"what are you up to, Fluttershy?" Rainbow mumbled to herself.

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Twilight had her own dream. The same, repeating nightmare. Her dark past coming and nearly killing her. The cuts, the bruises, the scars, all feeling real. She never could wake up when she wasnted to escape. Blood pouring under her, dying fast.

The dark Marenite laughing over her fallen body. Midnight Sparkle. Her dark past.

She awoke with sweat-soaked sheets. That nightmare...again!

She slowly got out of bed, mind reeling at the dream yet again. She had to get her mind off of it, so she burried herself in books.

She saw a book about dreams. "Maybe this'll help." She started reading, and she read aloud some things that caught her eye.

"Dreams could represent future, past, or present events." "[Dreams] could hold certain messages." "[Dreams] are supervised by the ruler of the night."

She'll have to ask Luna about this.

"Twilight? Shouldn't you be up at Fluttershy's?" Spike asked as he walked down the stairs.

Twilight looked at the sun. "You're right! See ya, Spike." She galloped out the library door.

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Spike wandered over to the opened book. "What has Twi been reading?" He picked up the book and read the circled line.

"Dreaming of the past may lead to death in the near future."

"My my. What HAS Twi been reading?" Must be that repeating nightmare she talks about. Hopefully she gets over this soon.

Sigh... Twilight left a huge mess... Time for a clean up.